Gino's Italian Escape - Full Series One | Our Taste

[Music] my name is Gino d'acampo I'm a chef born and raised in Italy [Music] for Italians the most important thing in life is food let me show you how mouth-watering ingredients have shaped my home country that's one of the best things that I have written join me tonight in a place obsessed by fruits lemon Paradise I meet the buffalos that are treated like royalty look up behind me there's some bathing they're eating good grass and I use some of Italy's best ingredients to create an evening to remember this is my Italian Escape [Music] there are so many beautiful places in Italy but this has to be one of my favorites with its rugged Coastline and stunning scenery this is the Amalfi Coast if you look at the boot of Italy the Amalfi Coast is in the South near the uncle and today I'm in Amalfi Town itself foreign the town has been famous for its fragrant lemons for over a thousand years in the 1920s and 30s hamalfi was a stylish holiday destination for film stars and the British upper classes so why do I love you so much well this is where I used to come on holiday with my family this place Amalfi means a lot to me a lot of memory when I was a little boy probably about 10 11. my mom and dad used to take my sister and I are always here to swim and to have ice creams one thing I loved as a boy was eating ice cold granita and here it has to be flavored with Amalfi's lemons [Music] a lot how do you make decent I make with the lemon sugar and wood lemon sugar and water and the water that's organic lamb um this granita takes me right back to being a boy in the 1980s [Music] for his lemon juice with the piece of lemon skin and sugar so simple my palate picks up every single ingredients here and and magical that's what is magical hmm no milk inside nothing the tourists like it yes around 300 000 tourists flock to this pretty coastal town every year and many of them are British I love you I love you I love you more I love you more the reason why a month is very popular with tourists is very simple I mean have a look at the coast you got the sea you got the mountain the food is excellent the people are unbelievably nice I mean everybody who comes here is just just gonna get shocked when I came here as a child I had no idea that Amalfi's breathtaking scenery was hiding a wonderful Secret hugging the Steep Cliffs high above the town are The Fragrant Citrus Groves that make this area unique here the warm Italian sun and cool sea breezes are perfect for growing Amalfi's exclusive lemons wherever you go there is Lemon Grove everywhere so this town is lemon crazy and there is one thing that I want to do here in Amalfi is to learn everything I should know about lemons and there is only one way to find Amalfi's lemons by walking up steps hundreds of steps these Charming Citrus Grove is owned and looked after by the aceto family [Music] everything okay okay this is lemon Heaven yes yes Paradise the paradise yes is incredible because as I was working up and there are a lot of steps yes to walk up here the only thing that you can smell is lemons yes it's beautiful it's phenomenal I mean lemon lemon tell me something why are the Mr Philemon so special this is the best because it never sits inside so there is no seeds at all no no no you can actually you can eat peel it yes and eat it like that you can eat the skin as well because it's natural we don't use a chemical addition this is surprisingly sweet so you don't use any preservatives any chemical anything come on show me how to pick some lemons I've never done it before baby oh okay California okay okay see what he just told me is whenever you pick lemon you must make sure that you never pick them from when the crown on the lemon is because otherwise it will rotten all the way through so you need to leave a little bit of the green bit on top and the characteristics and lemon is to leave the little leaves on top you'll even learn Ed they should do an aftershave for the fly for the fly yes it's good it's very very beautiful Salvatore and his family Pick 4 000 kilograms of lemons a year from their Grows by hand many of the lemons are taken to the families Factory where they are transformed into Amalfi's legendary cure limoncello I have been inspired to make lemon dessert and I couldn't come to Amalfi without using the local produce bonjourno foreign [Music] this is like being in lemon Paradise but all I need is a bottle of Limoncello and there are so many to choose from let's hope this one is the best fantastic ciao I'm officially all lemoned out well not quite all the lemon out Salvatore has lent me a corner of his Lemon Grove so I can prepare a Delicious lemon and limoncellomus the first thing that we have to do is fresh eggs we're gonna break them straight into a bowl I just want to use the egg whites here it's important to get them all fluffy be careful whenever you whisk the egg white because often people turn the Whisk into the bowl just like this and that is a mistake because you don't bring air into the egg white to make sure that they fluffy you have to lift the Whisk so then all the air goes into the egg whites that's it I'm happy and you know when the egg whites are done if you can do this look no egg white coming anywhere this is not a magic trick they just perfectly whisks in with some caster sugar and now for a bit more whisking [Music] what I'm looking for is a light meringue texture all of a sudden the egg white is gone light fluffy and shiny I'm happy with this now mascarpone cheese it's best to loosen up the mascarpone now what I'm gonna do is to grate the skin of an Amalfi lemon of course any old lemon will do the job smell is unbelievable that's it I'm done with my lemon skin I got a little bit on the zesty here and I'm not gonna let it go because to me this is like when you have a flakes of Golds you don't want to waste them [Music] I'm gonna add a few drops into my mascarpone the lemon zest from Amalfi the flavor of the limoncello this is going to be Fantastico mix everything together straight away you start to fold in the egg white into the mascarpone mixture always little by little what you want to achieve is something that is creamy but yet we haven't lost any air from the egg whites I'm really happy with this now the way I like you to serve it is by using a cocktail glass because if you have a party this is going to look very cool look at that creamy moose and to finish the dish crushed hard Amaretti biscuits and the job is done look at that my lemon element and I found a nice little spot over there where I'm gonna eat it [Music] doesn't get any better than this I've still got more to see and do in the beautiful town of Amalfi [Music] when I came here as a small boy I loved getting out onto the water in a boat so I've decided I want to thank the acheto family my hosts in the Lemon Grove with an evening sailing and some superb snacks Italian entertaining is all about using simple flavors so I need to find a special ingredient to feed my guests [Music] and I've got just the idea 60 kilometers South along the Amalfi Coast there is a farm where I'm told they produce the ultimate Buffalo mozzarella in the north of Italy the weather is not very good so the Buffaloes are not very happy here in the South look up behind me there's some bathing they're eating good grass happy Buffalo's means amazing mozzarella so these fine specimens get the Royal Treatment even a personal massage and it makes all the difference mozzarella is quite tasteless so usually Italian people will or myself I will use it when I bake pasta or when I cook generally a buffalo make mozzarella you shouldn't cook with it you should just eat it like you would eat an apple here at the banulo farm they make and sell 300 kilograms of mozzarella every day and people will drive miles together share because as every Italian knows Buffalo mozzarella must be eaten on the day is made Nicola palmieri's family owned the farm and I want to know how they make one of Italy's most popular cheeses I can already smell the mozzarella everywhere yes yes did this one is already what's happening here this is a little Cherry mozzarella they are the smallest Canada side so yes you can try see I love mozzarella so I just can't resist forgive me no problem forgive you can do it come on [Music] the curd from the Buffalo milk is shredded heated and the gooey substance is stirred until the texture is just right then it's cold and the skilled workers break it into the mozzarella balls we know and love every ounce of this cheese is precious so I wonder if they let me get my hands on it see I've been in the mozzarella Factory before but there is one thing that I never done is actually making mozzarella I promise I promise once turn off the ball needs to be sealed tightly so that water can't get inside the mozzarella and spoil it this is so cool you must use these two fingers so wet the hands because you pick it up okay okay all right so okay and now and put inside the water just leave it like that okay okay this is not isn't good no this is not good no this is mine the difference I tend to have I tend to go for bigger balls so that's the story of my life okay do it again with an huh you must not to be empathy inside it isn't included by now you've been a bit too fussy though hey give me the chance ready [Music] yes yes I think you know what I'm gonna do I'm gonna carry on eating mozzarella instead of making it how about that yes sir yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah okay thank you guys carry on I'll put this back grazia once the mozzarella balls have been well properly made by the experts they are marinated in salted water to give them that special taste this is the final step to make a good mozzarella are they ready to go now yes they're already ready people can buy then people can eat them I'm not sure I've done enough work to deserve another treat but I just can't help myself see now it's nice and salty outside yes but inside you can still see the tenderness and the milk coming through the creaminess it's unbelievable I'm so excited because I can't wait to see this mozzarella oh yes for cooking this is going to be fantastic okay let's go right here welcome I've bought some of these amazing mozzarella to make something very special for my Sunset Cruise with Salvatore and his family from The Lemon Grove I'm gonna show you a little nibble which is amazing if you're having a party your friends around or you can use for antipasti and is mozzarella wrapped with Parma ham served with the pesto and soft cheese and rocket leaves now first thing we're gonna have to do is to flavor the soft cheese so what I got here I got some nice soft cheese that is going to go straight into a bowl you can use any kind of soft cheese mascarpone will work ricotta cheese will work absolutely fine [Music] still in soft cheese goes so well together and now we're gonna add a little bit of black pepper [Music] okay so now you can imagine the flavor of pine kernels the cheese and the basil from the pesto mixing with the soft cheese okay I'm happy with this time for the star ingredient the two mozzarella that I have here is the first one here the bocconcini or also known as Cherry mozzarella and the big one here look this is the usual the one you would find in Italy this in Italian is called titsa which in English translates to a woman breast for this dish the little mozzarella works best get a few slices of Parma ham and lay them on a chopping board on with a creamy soft cheese and pesto mix now what I'm gonna do I'm gonna use some rocket leaves that I'm gonna lay over the Parma ham peppery and bitter rocket contrasts so well with a mild cheese just put half of the mozzarella on one side of the Parma ham just like this okay and now simply what you have to do is roll the Parma ham with soft cheese and the rocket leaves just like this see this is exactly what I like about Italian food you pick up two three ingredients fresh rocket leaves fresh buff from mozzarella a bit of Parma ham and the flavors are going to be just amazing when I serve these little nibbles later I know that a limoncello cocktail will go perfectly with them the first thing you have to do make sure you go two nice fruit glasses like this and a fresh lemon get your glasses and put them on the top of the lemon so you make sure they you wet The Edge or the glass this and then get yourself a little bowl of caster sugar and deep into the caster sugar I'm happy with that now for the limoncello straight you probably want to buy two to three fingers only one cello going on the bottom of the glass and straight on top we're gonna go for Prosecco you can use champagne if you want but I prefer the Prosecco because the professor has got a little bubbles with the lemon shell or it's going to be very good see [Music] sick ha ha my perfect party food [Music] my time in Amalfi is drawing too close but I have got one last appointment to keep watching the sun go down at Sea with my friends from The Lemon Grove and the best way to kick off the proceedings [Music] my limoncello cocktail let's not drink too much because we are in the middle of the sea after all foreign and finally an explosion of flavors [Music] to the Amalfi lemon to the Amalfi Coast and to Deliverance in Italy we would call today una giornata perfecta perfect day join me tonight as I get passionate about local produce it looks like we're gonna get married I taste Italy's craziest [Music] mile already that makes me Buzz already and I hit the spot with my mom's home cooking flavor of the garlic oregano absolutely beautiful these this is my Italian Escape foreign place in Italy it has to be Naples the food the people and the scenery are so inspiring without a doubt my heart truly belongs here this is where I was born where I grew up when I was a little boy I study here to become a chef in the catering College there is a lot of memories if you look at the of Italy the province of Naples is on the ankle today I'm starting in the home of my favorite street food Naples City [Music] ask any Italian would mix Naples famous and they will tell you it's Pizza neapolitans are credited with inventing the Margarita Pizza it said that in 1889 a tomato mozzarella and Basil Pizza was presented here to Queen Margherita of Italy she loved the colors as they reminded her of the Italian flag and so the pizza was named in her honor it's time and I've spotted a crowd queuing for a unique neapolitan pizza that takes me right back to my childhood it's the ultimate Neapolitan street food which is a deep fried pizza with tomato sauce a noise sounds a bit strange but believe me is Sensational I grew up with it and I want everybody to see the DI Mateo Pizzeria has been deep frying their traditional pizzas for over 160 years I want to see how it's made so I'm meeting The Man Behind the fryer award-winning Pizza Chef Salvatore Salvador ciao everything all right where do you start okay fresh cheese fresh ricotta cheese which is absolutely beautiful in there so you can understand the freshness that you're gonna get from the deep fried pizza [Music] cooked pancetta I can see that this is going to be very good for my cholesterol by the way then which is the smoked mozzarella absolutely beautiful then a little bit of tomato and fresh basil and the job is done Salvatore seals in all that lovely feeling with more pizza dough [Music] there you go it looks like a giant Pappadeaux my tummy is starting to rumble is like being a kid again I never been so excited in my life [Music] the master now we're gonna have to eat [Music] I can't wait to wear my teeth in here where I'm going to it feels like that it's never been deep fried since cha has been baked and the flavor is fresh and it's Unique it's really unique it's incredible delicious but you can't eat deep fried pizza every day so when I was growing up here my mom created something special just for me I used to love pizza and if it was for me I would have pizza every day so what she did she came up with this dish where he uses the same flavors that you would have on a pizza but using chicken and the recipe is called Polo a la Pizzaiola Chicken in bread crumbs with pizza sauce and even today I still make the same dish for my boys my pizza sauce starts with fried garlic and of course I have to have tomatoes apito seasoning and the herb you get on loads of pizzas dried oregano so you mix everything together like this okay after the minutes is absolutely done now for the chicken a breast or chicken put on a chopping board and cover it with a little bit of clean fin next I get a cooking mullet you can also use a rolling pin very simply what you want to do you just want to bash it down until you get about half centimeters thick breast or cheek that's it and the reason why I do that is because you wanted to cook it very fast and if it keeps nice and thin all the moisture is going to be into the chicken but before I fry the chicken I need to coat it in toasted breadcrumbs so I need some eggs I like to do the eggs because I remember when I was little it's the only job in the kitchen my mother would give to me is whisking the eggs and that's it in that we're gonna put salt and pepper I'm seasoning toasted bread crumbs and flour with Parmesan cheese go straight on top [Music] fantastic so you get your breasted chicken it goes into the eggs just like this and then straight away from the eggs onto the breadcrumbs like this put it on top just press it down before you frying the chicken bash it with a back of a knife then it won't curl up in the pan straight into the oil look at the sizzling let's say exactly what I'm looking for beautiful salad now but no heavy dressings Italians like to taste the leaves a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil [Music] it's gonna go straight on top and a nice squeeze of lemon juice like this okay I can hear that my chicken is ready to go the other way oh yes nice and crispy fantastical to the leaves using your fingertips nice and gently once you've done that go straight into a little bowl fantasy now I'm ready to serve I can smell that pizza sauce flavor of the garlic the oregano the Tomato going through and is absolutely beautiful then we get the chicken the chicken is going to sit on top and the last thing that I'm going to do I'm going to use a buffalo mozzarella two to three slices on top and this to finish a bit more oregano black pepper and a little extra virgin olive oil beautiful and this is how you make my mother Pollo a la Pizza [Music] neapolitans love to eat and sometimes they overdo it so in the evening they'll find something to settle their stomachs they have a little drink called kosher aperte which you translate into legs wide open but I'm going to explain why so now I'm gonna have this drink which is simply freshly squeezed lemon juice then very cold sparkling water and the last thing that is going to put in is bicarbonate of soda now is the time where the legs wind open comes into the thing because you need to have the legs open otherwise it's going to go everywhere as soon as you put the bicarbonate in I have to drink it very quickly pronto Uno do a tray right there you go ah amazing now every light dirty but lights [Music] it's so good to be back in Naples the area where I was born one thing I know from growing up here is how seriously we neapolitans take our coffee just a drink it's a way of life anyone who knows me they know that I love my coffee but when I say I love my coffee I'm talking about 10 to 15 coffees per day [Music] coffee first came to Italy through Venice in the 16th century however the people of Naples embraced the drink and moved it Forward claiming to have invented the espresso in the Heart of the City there is a man who's continuing the Neapolitan obsession with Innovation they call him the professor and he's taking coffee to a whole new level perfect for my first hit of the day that makes me smile already that makes me Buzz already [Music] yes I love that I love that and I can't wait to taste it I'm gonna try to guess what it is because I don't want to know I just want to see if my pilot will pick it up you make me nervous okay [Music] let's go and hazelnuts [Music] I got that it's a little bit of ways are not going there it's like hot hazelnut ice cream we see about that I'm gonna I'm gonna Nick the recipe this one looks unusual it's definitely coffee but really creamy and slightly cheesy I know exactly what it is [Music] [Laughter] coffee yeah ricotta she's she's like a coffee cheesecake I'm so intrigued this one comes with special instructions is frothy cool and definitely Herby I can't get it menta means I said means very uniseated puzzle coffee who would have told them the professor's crazy coffees have attracted stars from all over the world and I'm Keen to know who's been here foreign [Music] [Music] I'm so happy to be back in Naples I love the food and the people here but there is one obvious Landmark that makes my home so unique you know a lot of people they do forget that the Vesuvius is a live volcano in the middle of the city Neapolitan people they shoot the fear Him but they don't you know they actually is the other way around they respect him and then and I like that this region has been shaped by eruptions over thousands of years living it with a rich soil that grows the most amazing crops to find out just how good they are I'm heading 30 kilometers west of Vesuvius to a restaurant hidden high in a fantastic location this is the extinct volcano Canyon Crater of fondi debaya it last erupted 10 000 years ago and is now fertile farmland and look at this view I mean I I really can't believe I'm inside a volcano and you know the first thing that he comes into my mind is how peaceful around here is stunning absolutely stunning [Music] at the restaurant today is Chef tobiya and his mama the kitchen only uses food from the crater and it's all organic to be a son jamarco has offered to show me the fields starting with the basil you can smell it straight away the fresh basil is unbelievable the aniseed yes the smell our basil has a different taste a different smell than that what you buy in a supermarket it's absolutely fantastic our ground it's rich in minerals thanks to the volcano blast more or less 10 000 years ago yes what I have to say one day I'll give you that the flavor of this basil is really beautiful this stuff is so good it makes me want to cook for jamaco and his family I have a dish in mind but now I need some courgettes I want this one there that's the one yes now I got a book a flower it looks like we're gonna get married ah yeah okay I'm at the brides and you just say behind me I've never cooked with ingredients from a volcano before so I really hope I can make Jamarcus family proud with a simple Italian Peasant dish to show off their vegetables frittata now afritata is like an omelette but bigger and if you like courgettes is one of the best recipe ever because courgettes and frittata you just work fantastic a good frittata starts with red onions what I want to achieve here I want to make sure that they get nice and crispy and caramelized [Music] now I'm going for color and sweetness with red and yellow peppers [Music] and of course to make this one even more caramelized the best thing to do is to put salt straight away you take away all the moisture from the vegetable and it Cooks much quicker then I'm going to add a little bit of black pepper okay [Music] and the job is nearly there now the courgettes just slice them in a bar half centimeter circles it will do the job and again straight in the frying pan yeah good shake like this now you can see where my frittat is going right while the vegetables fry I'm going to make a beautiful fresh tomato salsa I'm just chopping the tomatoes roughly leaving the skin and seeds in I remember when I used to cook with my mother when I used to be a little boy she always said to me that whenever you cook with tomato this is such a beautiful fruits that you don't want to waste anything and and I think that is very important olives work so well with tomatoes for a little kick I like a bit of chili so a couple of pinches will do the job salt very important because it helps the tomatoes kind of marinates and the essentials in any Italian Kitchen lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil let's not forget those incredible buzzer leaves they are going to make this salsa really take off and just tell them in there like this very kind of Rough and Ready look mix everything together and look at the color huh that's how you make a proper tomato salsa my fried vegetables are ready all I need are the eggs you cannot make a frittata without eggs in goes some lovely golden eggs eaten and seasoned the eggs are gonna get all the flavor from the courgettes the onions and the pepper and a Gino Frito tomato cheese and now I'm gonna show you a technique how to turn your frittata around okay I'll give myself a lid any lid will do or you can use a flat plate and this is the technique first of all make sure that the frittata is cooked on the bottom a pour my frittata onto the lids like this okay then I'm gonna pour the pan on top and let's see job done tuck in the sides so make sure that everything is in there oh the smell is unbelievable more grated Parmesan cheese and we are good to go [Music] Tata ready oh come on look at the color huh the Green from the courgettes the red pepper the melting parmesan cheese on top and there is only one way to serve my frittata the Gino weight the salsa looks beautiful if on the top of the frittata [Music] Perfecto and I really hope that the guys are going to like my frittata [Music] enjoy your milk I'm joined at the table by John Marco tobia and Mama and I just hope I've done Justice to these incredible ingredients very summery the vegetable National dentist that's what I like to hear for me this sums up everything special about the place where I grew up Good Company great surroundings and fantastic food [Music] Naples I love you join me tonight as I get a taste for Italy's essential oil I just can't believe my eyes now this is out of order this is not a woman this is a superwoman and I create a sensational Sunday lunch this is where a carpacho is all about [Music] as an Italian I love to explore my homeland in search of places which I hope will inspire me sitting puya a region where Century's old tradition meets modern day Italy [Music] of Italy forms the heat of the boat today I'm on the Adriatic Coast near the city of Bari Barry is the bustling capital of the puya region and is an industrialized port and University City along the road is a wide flat plane and with the cool sea breezes from the Adriatic conditions are perfect for growing olives and producing olive oil they got everything here they got the sun they got the wind coming from the sea everything is nice and flat this is Paradise as far as olive oil is conserved there are estimated to be 60 million olive trees in the region and they thrive on hot summers and cool but not cold Winters as a result puya produces 40 percent of Italy's olive oil I'm visiting this traditional maseria or Farmhouse because I want to take a closer look at the amazing olive trees that produce Italy's most famous oil for any Italian especially for a chef like myself olive oil is the most important ingredients when you create a dish especially with a Savory dish you will realize that it always starts with olive oil this Plantation dates back to the Romans who were the first to commercialize olive oil production but some of these trees were already growing wild before that time Corrado Rodeo is the seventh generation of his family to look after the 1003 Olive Grove he's showing me his most gnarled and characterful specimens this one the old boy is over 3 000 years old I'm speechless and that is very rare this tree has been here before the Roman Empire it gives me goosebumps yes can I touch it yes yes see it's like touching history I can't believe that he's still here Corrado tells me that this tree is protected by a rather clever tracking device he just told me that there is a metal barge down there which is linked to a satellite dish because they need to make sure that the trees number one doesn't get stolen and most importantly nobody cuts it down so this is really protected by the Italian government to make sure that nobody does anything with the sea olive trees are one of the oldest oldest types of trees alive today their trunk and branches made out of many times but the trees Roots always remain alive and Sprout again which is why they can form amazing shapes looks history of what I'd like that you'll find [Music] I can't see anything look there is a woman body I don't know what kind of women you've been out but I don't see any woman here yes I think he is a woman no ah and this is the bamboo Colorado you're a typical Italian man you see women everywhere [Music] unlike me to miss the figure of a woman I think the sun must be affecting both of us we need to cool down and sample some of Colorado's extra virgin olive oil made from green olives okay you have to take a little bit yes okay this is good because it's got a little bit of peppery yes in the back of the throat like a little bit of pepper yes it doesn't feel greasy this is the reason why our lives in our ex-aburging only body comes from Julia because he's got character he's got that passion behind it and I really like that I'm gonna go for a second cheese oil from green olives has a spicy taste but when the olives mature and turn black the flavor Melos this Grove has given me an idea for a beautiful recipe using two types of olive oil my dish is carpaccio of beef with the Italian garnish gremolata I'm kicking off with some seasoned beef whenever you have to fry whenever you have to sear whatever you have to cook what you need is an ordinary olive oil so get your ordinary olive oil and drizzle all over the beef it's not worth using extra virgin olive oil for frying as you lose that fresh Olive flavor I'm covering every side of the beef before searing make sure you got yourself a hot frying pan and start to seal the beef all over do you seal the beef about a couple of minutes on each side this is my version of gremolata starting with flat leaf parsley and garlic what makes my recipe different is that I replace lemon zest with capers also my green molata isn't the standard dry garnish mine is wet the reason why is a wet gremolata is because I'm gonna add extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice and of course always keep an eye on the beef this is exactly where you want to look nice light brown and carry on with the other side now the only thing that you have to do is to chop away I could use a blender here but I don't want a puree I want my green molata to have a rough texture [Music] once you learn how to make gremolata you will lose it over and over again foreign oh yes I'm happy with the beef let it rest for a good three to four minutes and carry on with the gremolata now what we need to add is a good squeeze of lemon juice the sharp lemon will cut through the rich extra virgin olive oil and I have to season it and this is the consistency that you're looking for so it looks like a roughly chopped pesto now is the time to slice the beef just like that now can you see all nice and sealed outside the yet rare in the middle this is where a carpacho is all about the beef should be thinly sliced and while it may look very rare to British eyes trust me it will melt in your mouth this is the kind of dish that you would find usually on Italian tables especially when it's on Sunday cover the slices of beef with the wet gremolata just like this all I need now are some fresh rocket leaves dressed of course with extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice and the last ingredient is shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano you can't beat a good Parmesan cheese let's see this looks good beef carpaccio with gremolata now this is the dish that you should have in puya [Music] easier a fantastic way to make the flavor of the olive oil scene cover more about the food of puya so I'm going to an ice cream parlor in body Old Town ice cream was introduced to Italy in the 17th century since then Italians have built a global reputation for being the best ice cream makers this parlor produces traditional flavors but as food innovators they are also experimenting with Savory varieties on the menu is a Gorgonzola and walnut ice cream and as a chef I must try it nice thank you for you it's good I think it's too strange for me it's too different can I try something I cannot try the one with the all your deliver the olive oil one I prepare for you Italian ice cream has more taste than British ice cream as it's made with less fats come on Italians are supposed to be masters of these this looks like a meal it's not an ice cream it's a bit of a lunch olive oil ice cream and Parma ham is a surprising combination you definitely get the flavor of the extra virgin olive oil again the little pieces of olives in there slightly sweeter I like it thank you I think it's a good one see this is interesting I like it but I'm gonna go for a chocolate ice cream okay thank you for me you will never bait a traditional ice cream in a cone fantastic [Music] I'm in the region of Puja and I've come to the capital the oldest part of the city has a maze of medieval narrow streets and I'm told that what they do in one of them is rather special I'm searching for women in the middle of the street making handmade pasta I actually never seen it before but I know that they are around here the local women specialize in making their own distinctive pasta meaning little ears Barry was once a very poor area so this Regional pasta is made without eggs water is simply mixed with glutinous semolina which bonds the dough together these ladies certainly make it look easy Angelo laspella is happy to show me the traditional method of shaping orequette this is like a machine it's you beautiful blue she does it I think I'm going to ask her if I can make some possible foreign here goes my reputation she said off you go okay [Music] baby is wrong so the first one wrong look rubbish really really bad I wonder if she's going to be politically correct with me wait uh [Music] it's the most embarrassing thing that I've done in my life this woman is telling me off that I can't make a particular shape of pasta it's making this look so easy but this is a nightmare he's a pure nightmare I've got a blinding idea which will put Angela's skills to the test I've just asked if she can do it blindfold there and she said yes Yorkie I want to see this [Music] and this is out of order it's not normal this is not a woman this is a superwoman Ravi Sima this is incredible I don't know if I should carry on staying here or leave right now Angela is not impressed with my efforts but I want a second opinion [Music] see the lady she was more politically correct yeah not too bad not like this one no that was rubbish I want to cook a dish using orequette but there is no point using mine I'll be using the expert variety it's Angela's pasta with broccoli and fresh tomatoes the first thing that you have to do is to boil your broccoli so get your broccoli and they're gonna go straight into boiling water I'm adding a fair amount of salt for a good reason this is exactly the same boiling water that we're going to use to cook pasta leave them there to cook for two minutes in the meantime what I'm going to show you is how to prepare your garlic slice it roughly just like this you don't want the slice to be too thin because otherwise they're going to burn very quickly another way to stop garlic burning is to start it off in a cold pan with the olive oil time to switch it on red chili adds a cake I've taken out the seeds very soon garlic and chili are going to start to sizzling the olive oil the broccoli are ready and they're going to go straight into a bowl with very cold water this stops the broccoli cooking and keeps its vibrant color I want to cook some sweet cherry tomatoes until they break up ago my beautiful little ears here so straight into the boiling water just like that make sure that you turn the pasta around and I don't know if you realize there is one thing that I haven't done is to add olive oil into the water that is absolutely useless you're wasting your money I tell you why because the oil is gonna sit on top of the water the pasta stays on the bottom so what's the point of doing that to make sure that the pasta doesn't stick you need to keep the water boiling now is the time for the broccoli pick them from the water and make sure that you give them a good squeeze and that then roughly chop [Music] straight into the sauce and now it's time to season with plenty of salt this is the perfect vegetarian dish this light is healthy it's colorful this is Italy this is what Italy is all about make sure that whenever you cook pasta is nice and Al Dente drain the pasta and it goes straight into the sauce all the pasta must be coated with the sauce and have a look at this I mean you already have the colors of Italy in the pan the wine to the pasta the red of the tomatoes the green or the broccoli I'm happy this is ready to be served [Music] look at that the best of puya in one plate of pasta beautiful to look at easy to make and full of flavor a perfect pasta dish [Music] the harbor area the Old Port is where the Heap young locals come out to play it's eight o'clock in the evening here in Bari and I'm really curious to find out all these people behind me you know the kind of things that they drink you know what do they eat I mean after all this is the capital of Puja I just don't want to know what's going on there is a buzzing atmosphere as people relax in the cool of the evening what's happening here all these people all these people come here every day with Vienna and enjoy the this is very lifestyle this is very vibrant very rock and roll very rock and roll find out more I get the lowdown from the local Barn it just I just ask us you know what's going on here happy hour the body happy hour where people come here they have something to drink and they have this sandwiches with tomato sauce and salami you know spicy he says the spicier they are the more they drink and then the panzero to the famous panzerote which is the deep fried pizza with almond cheese and mozzarella lifestyle [Music] this is what I like about Italy the good weather fantastic scenery happy people everywhere amazing Foods drink what do you want more from life my time in Bari is almost over the region is moving forward and I hope the Traditions that make it so special continue to live on join me tonight for a roasted Roman treats I love the sound of the crackling porchetta I discovered the secrets of the Italian deli it just told me if the pig ate well then you're gonna eat well and I prepare a very pleasing pasta dish right now I'm the happiest man alive this is my Italian Escape [Music] foreign the Eternal City it all is exhilarating romantic and magical there is something inspiring here for everyone and I've come to Rome for my own special reasons I come here to eat Italian food because I really believe that this is the capital of Italian food if you look at the boots of Italy Rome is on the knee and it was the first place I came to after leaving Chef's School here is where I kind of rediscovered what Italian food is all about because you know from school from the catering College you only get just a little bit of what it's going to be like cooking Italian food but then when you come to Rome you understand why Italian foods is so beautiful it's so colorful it's so rich with flavor but yet very simple to prepare Italy's Capital has always been home to the rich and powerful and where you find power you find the best food Rome's Elite ensured that meat of the highest quality was always on their menu and for a chef like me the best place to get that true flavor of the city today is in a specialist Roman Delhi Italians with a taste for Fine Food will always choose to come to a Delhi over a supermarket the way they organize the Delhi is Second To None the variety of the food the color the way they display the food and also the way they interact with customers you know they give it to you they explain it to you they feed you when you go there and this is what is inspirational about it I've decided to cook a typical Roman recipe pasta carbonara so I've come to the city's old meat packing District to find my main ingredient pancetta air dried belly or pork Claudio volpetti has been running one of the best dailies in the capital for over 40 years and I'm sure he'll stock the pancetta I need foreign the best part of the pork to make carbonara is the chick I didn't know that see that's the beautiful thing about Italian that you always learn something new and I like it is very well oh yeah yeah yeah is it nice if I'll make all pasta for special pasta nice for eating just oh yeah oh yeah yeah oh yeah it's absolutely delicious salty sweet and very moist Claudio tells me that during cooking guanciale produces a sweet fat and stays softer than pancetta which tends to crisp up and he offers me a chance to sample the pancetta as well I like this guy he's feeding me and that's what I like because that is very different this part is very important I love when he says this pork is very pork maybe when is it when is it it tastes gorgeous like delicate salty bacon with a very light texture and Claudio has an explanation So when you buy pancetta or when you buy guanciale or when you buy Parma ham you shouldn't really ask the question to the person behind the counter you should ask the pig what did he eat all his life because if the pig ate well then you're gonna eat well well this little piggy has eaten very well so I'm going to take pancetta and one chale for my recipe what an experience all I need to go with these wonderful ingredients is a very special location this has to be the coolest place ever where I've cooked anything I mean look at the back I got the Colosseum behind me a beautiful evening and is only fair that I'm going to show you a traditional Roman recipe so what I'm going to prepare for you is bucatini a la carbonara for this pasta dish the star ingredients are eggs cheese and the meat I've just bought the guanciale looks so tender it will taste amazing with the pancetta that's it now that I have my meat nice and chopped let's cook it butter will give the meat a lovely rich flavor when it Cooks and a splash of olive oil stops it from burning now is the time that the one Charlotte de pancetta goes straight in you can always use streaky bacon here instead this Roman bucatini pasta is hollow so it can hold more sauce so you can imagine if you got a thicker spaghetti with a hole that it goes from one hand to the other but before we cook the pasta is one thing that is very very important is the water what we want we want boiling hot water and don't be shy with the salt so bocatini goes in there onto my fresh Carbonara sauce and I promise you it's really simple two eggs they're gonna go straight in there I'm keeping this recipe strictly Roman with local pecorino cheese you preamps are more familiar with parmigiano reggiano parmesan cheese which is made with cow milk pecorino is made with milk from the ships from the Italian word for charcoal Legend has it that this dish was invented by charcoal makers who only had a campfire to cook on and few ingredients there is no cream in my carbonara there aren't any mushrooms that run any piece because I'm showing you a traditional Carbonara sauce to finish some finely chopped flat leaf parsley parsley goes straight into the eggs [Music] see this is the beautiful thing about Italian food you can get two three ingredients put them together good quality ingredients and you're just gonna create a masterpiece [Music] so we go our pasta ready nice and Al Dente the pancetta and the conchale hots and our eggs mixture now is the time where you have to be very quick and mix everything together so get your pasta now that we still water coming down it goes straight into the pancetta can you see that sizzling there I need a little bit of the heat from the pancetta in the oil to completely cook my eggs so mix everything together take the pan away from the Heat when you add the eggs in there mix everything together for about 10 seconds very very quickly the heat from the oil is going to make sure that the eggs they're going to be cooked service straight away straight into your serving plates Fantastico and there you have it Colosseum in the back bucatina La carbonara on my plates right now I'm the happiest man alive [Music] and I'm about to get even happier Rome once the Hub of a great Empire and home to popes and emperors historically each Cuisine has embraced a huge variety of tastes and dishes for a chef it's incredibly exciting every time I come here I will always find an ingredients that number one I've never seen it before number two is probably done it differently from the other region of Italy so to me Rome is just tells me food food and that's the reason why I love it the ancient Romans fisted on wild boar and that passion for pork continues today the town of aricha is 30 kilometers from Rome's City Center Romans flock here for one thing a riches world famous porchetta slow roasted boneless pork that's stuffed with garlic seasoning and wild herbs and it's on every restaurant menu in this Tiny Town Alberto Cavallari has been serving up the town's legendary dish for 50 years fantastic yeah and let's hope that the vegetarian fashion doesn't pick up here in aricha because otherwise humans no vegetarians foreign why is he so special around here because we put in the porchetta some ingredients that are Unix like rosemarino so Rosemary is the main herb in the country in the south of Rome it's true Italy so you use typical ingredients from Rome for the Tolkien all I can think about is eating this mouth-watering pork I love the sound of the crackling porchetta I can't wait [Music] I can assure you this porchetta tastes even better than he looks this is the best roast dinner I ever had the meat is nice and moist the Rosemary the garlic the salt and the paper is coming through amazingly I'm so impressed I can see why the Romans come up here very clever people Bravo bird for the full porchetta experience the succulent meat must be eaten in rustic Italian bread that's it [Music] just porchetta recipe has remained unchanged for years but I'm Keen to find other Roman dishes which are far far older so I'm off to visit a chef famous for her traditional food has been called the queen of Roman cookery for 40 years she has been keeping alive a style of cooking that is centuries old without her determination many authentic Roman dishes would probably have disappeared [Music] Moana oh broccoli this is already the best smell you can find in any Italian Kitchen garlic oil and chili why just boil broccoli when you can have something so tasty like this in the UK we throw the leaves away and we only eat the broccoli in Italy is the other way around the delicacy is actually the leaf [Music] it's fresh fragrant and with just enough of a cake but it's Anna's classic Roman meat dish of stewed oxtail that caught my attention recipes using cheap cuts of meat were popular amongst the working classes in the late 19th century language like any Big City Rome has had many immigrants and they have influenced the cuisine she said very very big Jewish community in here and that's the reason why you have pan Colonels raisins and chocolates which is very soon I had no idea that Roman people would use chocolates especially in a recipe like this one Anna believes you can't get dishes like this in central Rome because Young Chefs aren't trained to use traditional ingredients they are really missing a treat what I like is this interesting chocolate it just works really really good really good with Poor People's Cuisine nothing was wasted Anna's next dish uses Dill sweet breads the Timeless glands which many people wouldn't dare try I need to watch this because this is going to be something new for me Anna fries the sweet breads in just olive oil and garlic and Frozen meaty porcini mushrooms everybody should experience this amazing spell that is going all over this kitchen is just incredible she is off the dish with chopped parsley it's so simple just a handful of ingredients [Music] I can only compare the taste to a delicate fried chicken liver this is some one of the best things that I've ever eaten I'm so glad that afan Anna because I was really worried that this kind of recipes here eventually they will disappear but now that I found Anna I know for a fact that they will be here for many years to come magnificent a question I am completely blown away by Anna's simple food so I decided to create my own Roman dish so what I'm going to show you now is how to prepare lamb cutlets in Honey and rosemary sauce served with a fennel salad I'm kicking off with a dressing for the fennel salad it starts with flat leaf parsley and extra virgin olive oil then some fresh lemon juice and squeeze straight over the extra virgin olive oil and a bit of [Music] just whisk everything together [Music] and now to make it lighter I'm gonna Add Water a little a Time [Music] now can you see what's happening there the dressing is getting very creamy without using any other fats nice [Music] in with the parsley and whisk him one more time [Music] I adore that Honesty Taste of fennel I'm not using the outer leaves or the hard hearts a lot of people throw it away I like it slicing the fennel thinly keeps the salad crispy and light make sure that the dressing coats the fennel all over before I fry the tender lamb cutlets I'm going to use favorite herb Rosemary strip the leaves from soak and go straight into the oil [Music] flavor of the Rosemary is releasing into the oil this is going to give a fantastic flavor to my lamb I'm allowing the cartoon lime to Brown and no more crispy outside nice and tender inside now what you have to do is very important whenever you cook Meats that you rest the meat before you serve it all the lamb needs now is a delicious sauce I'm gonna use a very Roman ingredients which is honey Roman absolutely love Annie and I'm gonna use that as the prime sauce for my lamb just make sure that you mix everything together because what's going to happen is going to get all beautiful and caramelized and of course if you don't want to use lamb this honey and rosemary sauce will work absolutely fantastic with pork beef and believe it or not grilled vegetable [Music] Fantastico everything is ready to serve it goes on First and I hold it all together with that other Roman favorite sliced pancetta next the lamb cutlets I make a little wig one with them [Music] and the last thing we need to do is to drizzle my honey and rosemary sauce on top of the Lamb [Music] look at that lamb in Rosemary and honey sauce with a fennel salad simplicity at its best [Music] it's time to say arrivederci Roma goodbye to Rome but I'm sure I will always find inspiration in the food and the people of this beautiful city join me tonight as I learn how to roll the perfect Pasta I Branch out to find fantastic fruits it's not just a cherry this is the cherry and I cook for my Italian family for the first time ever I don't know why I'm nervous you know I've cooked for so many people this is my Italian Escape it's impossible for me to return to my home country without coming to Campania the beautiful region where I was born and where my family still call home compania is in the south of Italy today I'm going to a town called graniano 30 kilometers south of Naples City and I'm here for a good reason as a chef this is hard for me to admit but I've never actually cooked for my Italian family before my auntie Rita lives just down the road so I've decided to treat her to a meal that's her and who's that good looking little boy for the meal I need to pick up some authentic Italian ingredients and I've come to just the right place if you ask any Italian the first thing that they will say to you is pasta because graniano is the home of pasta graniano has been producing pasta since the Romans were here these days the factories in this little town export above 15 percent of all Italy's pasta I'm Keen to find out how graniano's food has become so famous the man who can tell me really knows his spaghetti from his linguine pasta is in Giuseppe di Martino's blood my family has been living here for 100 years and we've been involved in pasta for now three generation like most of the people from Granada [Music] was once home to over 150 pasta factories each one dried their precious pasta in the streets using the hot southern Italian Sunshine Giuseppe tells me is not just the Sun that makes the town's pasta so special it's another one of Mother Nature's gifts this is the Granado water taste it see how nice it is it's light it's got very little calcium so it gives you a lighter pasta not too heavy easy to handle very easy to handle and it doesn't interfere with the taste so graniano's blazing sun and delicate Mountain Water are crucial to producing world-class pasta but there is one final element high up in the mountains that guarantees pasta Perfection everywhere around from each other direction Southeast North it's all mountains so the only way for the wind to get in the town is from West and West you have the sea and it brings moisture so the pasta can be dried gradually naturally and perfectly this is the reason why graniano is unique the water the wind the perfect position this town was designed by God to make pasta graniano's unique story has inspired me to cook and I can't wait to get my hands on this legendary pasta for my auntie Rita's dish [Music] buying food in Italy usually means being spoiled for choice and here we take our pasta very seriously this is pasta Evan absolutely beautiful in Italy there are over 650 shapes of pasta It's shame that nowadays that no wildly available for example if you take this one it's like a pot all right so I can I can see this one kind of cooking very slowly in the oven with a nice Ragu in the Middle with a nice little bit of beef stock in there and it's just gonna taste amazing this one here which is actually called fidansate means lovers and let me explain you why because can you see is like two tubes of pasta candle making love to each other that's that's what it looks like and what I'm gonna do with this is not to prepare a nice tomato sauce with chili garlic salmon and I know for a fact that together is going to work brilliant [Music] I want to get my pasta dish just right for my auntie Rita so I'm heading up into graniano's beautiful mountains to perfect my recipe and here's my dish pasta with salmon in arabiata sauce if you want to translate arabiata into English it means upset when somebody gets really hungry and the reason is is because in the arabiata sauce you have chili and chili makes the upset thing the salmon with the arabiata it works perfectly I'm kicking off my sauce with a splash of olive oil and finally sliced onions and this is exactly what you want to hear the sizzling onion into the oil or for that angry chili okay not too much because then it's going to be really arabiata and really upset now for the past Al Dente any Italian will never eat pasta that is too soggy okay and what do you have to do is to cook the pasta one minute less than is instructed on the cooking time that is on a packet don't tell me off but salted water makes the pasta taste so much better a real arabiata sauce must have these chopped tomatoes from a tin don't use fresh tomatoes because trust me it just not Italian now once you put the Tomato into the sauce lower the Heats slowly slowly the tomato is getting nice and thick ready to coat my pasta for the salmon what I go here is a nice fillet of salmon you can get it anywhere do make sure that there is no skin on the bottom of the salmon okay if you chop the salmon up into small chunks it will cook much quicker and you don't have to use salmon chicken is just as good now the diced salmon goes straight into the tomato sauce Italians wouldn't normally cook salmon with arabiata sauce but I think my family need to enjoy the genome magic in this dish so what I'm doing now is to gently poach the salmon pieces releasing the flavor of the salmon into the sauce and now for the finishing touches flat leaf parsley coarsely chopped I can't resist more salt and for even more flavor a glug of extra virgin olive oil gently stir everything together and this is actually ready people often make the mistake that they drain the pasta they put it on a plate and then they put the sauce on top that's not the way to do it you need to allow the sauce to coat the pasta beautifully and that's how you get a perfect plate of pasta so you pick your pasta up give it a good Shake straight into the tomato sauce then very gently you mix everything together the only thing I've got to do now serve it on a nice warm serving plates now just sprinkle a little bit of parsley top that's it little parsley goes on top let me tell you this salmon is very happy to meet my favorite pasta shape perfect but I'm not ready to present it to my auntie Rita yet I'm heading back center of graniano the home of pasta it's my first visit here and so far I love it for any Italian you know I'll guarantee you just like me as soon as you wake up in the morning you're already thinking what kind of pasta am I going to have today and walk out the sauce what kind of shape it's so much part of our life that we're thinking about pasta all the time before I cook graniano's world famous pasta for my auntie Rita I want to see how it's made so I've come to a place where I've heard that some delightful ladies still finish their pasta in a traditional way [Music] showing me around this Factory is Alberto zamponi foreign yeah well I think I should keep this ladies company okay I feel nervous oh no problem stay relaxed okay okay like this and then just roll it [Music] I like this she wants me to go quicker I've just tried it for the first time how am I gonna go quicker no [Music] I've just asked when you do pasta what do you think your husband your boyfriend he said oh man we don't think about men we just make pasta see if I was working here I will do probably one kilo per day I don't know that's okay all right yeah come on this way of shaping pasta is hundreds of years old apparently the dough used to be rolled around umbrella spokes the the air over Madonna not the singer Jesus man that's the one the hand rolled fusilli he's slightly thicker at each end compared to machine made pasta when cooked the ends stay harder meaning the pasta is less likely to break I'm wondering why there is only women do this pasta where are the men's here because the women are more gentle to to to to move fast to take pass and then because they they have they haven't so they don't have no no no you never met my mother yeah no please don't say so now I've seen the dedication of these lovely ladies I can understand why graniano's pasta is so special told that there is another local product that should be just as well known 400 meters above sea level and facing the sleeping volcano Vesuvius he's a hidden surprise the most incredible cherries I've ever seen I have to admit I've never been into a Cherry Orchard and the only thing that comes into my mind is definitely I think this is one of my favorite three ever [Music] it's Carla this beautiful Orchard has been the pride of his family for more than 100 years [Music] I need to try one I need to try one [Music] up a Dolce you know this is uh is worth actually tastes like it's sweet but mainly is the color it's like a cherry that is being designed by Johnny Versace it's not just a cherry this is the Cherry [Applause] I'm dying to know how chiro has managed to grow fruit with such a fantastic taste [Music] is a commercial [Music] seen all these succulent cherries just makes me want to create something with them I have to say I don't have the best shoe for uh cherry picking by hey hey we are in Italy so uh wow this is pretty hard work but that's not a bad view from the office window [Music] s Uma doing and it doesn't sound very enthusiastic he said you pick in more leaves than cherries but I think I've got enough cherries now for a special dessert and I have a great recipe in mind where I can use them [Music] I know you will love this dish it's delicious quick and I promise you very easy Perry tiramisu everybody loves a Tiramisu but not everybody loves coffee so I thought why don't I use fresh fruits I'm going to put a little bit of cheddarily cure a sponge and I know that it's going to be just fantastic make sure that your frying pan is hot so the cherries go straight into the fry pan in case you're wondering I've taken the stones out I'm gonna add a little bit of sugar so they get beautiful and caramelized and then I'm gonna add Cherry liqueur [Music] the cherries need to go a bit soft until the Skins split a little very nice I'm just gonna put them on the side here and leave them to cool down now for my gorgeous tiramisu cream which starts with caster sugar and egg yolks and have a look what's gonna happen now the more you whisk and the paler the color of the egg yolk is going to become and you need to achieve that color because that means that the sugar is completely melted into the egg yolk that's it I'm happy go nice and pale you can't have a Tiramisu without muscarpone cheese but do soften it first for a final burst of flavor scoop out a fresh vanilla pod that is like it's like finding Golds it's smell is unbelievable so get your vanilla seeds straight into the mascarpone cream mix everything together and the last thing that we're gonna add is a little touch of cherry liqueur [Music] I wish you could smell that's it job done now it's time to build my tiramisu starting with sliced sponge cake just gently pressing down with your fingerprints then the Luscious Cherry cooking juices followed by the glossy vanilla cream then we're gonna add three to four cherries [Music] and carry on until the glass is full and the last ingredients that I'm going to put on top is crushed hazelnuts foreign [Music] [Music] my time in graniano is drawing to a close but I've got one last very important thing to do come to see my auntie Rita I'm going to cook my salmon pasta dish for my Italian family [Music] I have to admit I'm a little bit nervous because I know that it sounds quite strange but I've never cooked for my family before and you know whenever I come here they always cook for me you know I don't know why I'm nervous you know I've cooked for so many people they shouldn't make me nervous I'll be okay it's fine it's fine already at the table is my Auntie Vita and all my uncles and cousins but what makes me really worry is that Italians are the toughest food critics in the world wish me luck [Music] [Applause] [Music] so far so good but I need to ask the best cook here my auntie Rita what she thinks [Applause] it's wonderful it's wonderful it's wonderful I love it when amazing food brings amazing people together tonight extraordinary towns in southern Italy it's weird to me I use my loaf to make traditional bread don't adjust them they were perfect and I get excited by authentic recipes leave it rustic leave it rustic this is my Italian Escape [Music] I love visiting places in Italy which are unusual intriguing and still relatively Untouched by holiday makers so I have come to Puja a traditionally poor region with unique character look at the boot of Italy puya forms the hill of the boats today I'm starting off in the west of the region in the town of altamura for two thousand years bread making here has flourished in dozens of small bakeries is world famous for its rustic bread the lobes have a very thick crust which gives them a two-week shelf life for peasants and shepherds in the fields this was their staple diet and for modern day Italians bread is still everything [Music] very rarely you will see an Italian family sitting down on the table eating without any bread I mean as far as I can remember from when I was a little boy we always had bread on the table the essential crop needed to make altamura's legendary bread is Durham wheat and filled up on field of it surrounds the town climate and flat landscape are perfect for growing the wheat I've come to meet a man whose family holds the secrets to the town's outstanding reputation for making Italy's priced lobes Sue and his family have a hurricane and cell and sell bread India in this Bakery since 18 50 they bake the bread in a brick oven that burns oak wood the loaves have the aroma of toasted coffee and a mild Taste of vanilla but the guys here don't just bake their own bread the community are in on the act as well local lady Emilia knows what makes a good loaf [Music] okay they she makes this bread at home and I make it into the into my home why do you do that because it's a known tradition well she doesn't trust your bread she makes her own bread yes you must be very popular with the old ladies and after because this is heirs so you stump the bread okay so each lady has their own uh stamp oh yes that's that's very cool many of altamura's women use Giuseppe's oven this tradition dates back to when home baking was taxed the Government tried to stop people making too much bread and wasting weight as a result women use the oven belonging to the local Baker and he controlled how much bread they made the team are loading the oven for the next batch of bread and I am desperate to get my hands dirty and make the local loaf before the oven door closes let's bake some bread you can do like me so so and after so we then wait wait yes so yeah and after with and you can ah okay okay beautiful yeah yeah okay so now you need to fold it this way okay and that's it yes and now and now I help you yeah and after so yes beautiful that's it okay don't adjust them they were perfect [Laughter] this job seems to me a very hard job I mean you come here very early in the morning it's very hot how do you keep the smile going hey I have this smile because this is our tradition this is the tradition of my family these are ready the 300 loaves can now be cooked including Emilia's personalized bread now with mozzo the oven is sealed tight wet cloth is used to make the seal and the bread inside is cooked at about 400 degrees Centigrade okay unlike normal bread made with fine soft flour this dough is made with coarse flour from hard dark wheat called semolina Giuseppe tells me why the semolina is so special ingredients so you just tell me that the reason why the wheat in altamura is so special is because the ground is full of iron calcium plenty of sunshine and so that's the reason why they have the best submarine around so altamura's son hardened wheat creates its fantastic semolina combine this with centuries old traditional methods and you have the priced bread after an hour the 300 loaves need to be unloaded the smell is very natural there is no time to get chefy we need to get the bread out including mine do you know this is yours and this is mine but my one looks much better oh yes much better because it's it's got a more of a rustic shape this rustic bread after all this is 300 pieces of bread it's gonna take an hour here one hour yes really yeah yeah well I can't stand in front of this oven for an hour I just have to get stuck in Bravo Gino you know what I like then each piece of bread is completely different from another [Applause] I guess there is no time for any sympathy then this is Emilia's brand you want to be happy okay that looks quite cool with the oven empty I want to discover how wheat has played its part in the Aries cuisine so I'm heading 20 kilometers through the golden fields to a place called Matera in the region of basilicata the old town here is amongst the most ancient in the world and to me it looks like a giant nativity scene the natural caves in materas deep ravine were adapted to become homes thousands of years ago but in the 19th century a rapid population growth meant tightly packed in sanitary cave homes by the 1950s disease was Rife and the town's 15 000 inhabitants were evicted by the government leaving a kind of Ghost Town more than 50 years later some people are starting to move back hidden away in the Maze of streets I've discovered a restaurant I want to find out how this extreme hardship affected the local food what we got here this is called zupa digrano which means soup of Wheat and chickpeas and that's it there is nothing more broth and tomatoes yeah maybe some tomatoes and broth but the concept of the food in this region is a poor people Cuisine Cucina power it's made by ingredients coming from the poor people Fields so they didn't buy anything whatever they had in the land they will put on the dish hmm very simple very clean with flavor and ever read these before oh never tried it so you just um I'll have to get the taste of basilica and also the taste of wheat which for us is very important food the basic food of our meals I also try another Regional dish called chaleta made with eggs and vegetables so this is a great vegetarian dish yes vegetables it's another food of the basilicata region now I sample the cuisine I want to cook in the style of the region so I've created a simple treat which uses Giuseppe's bread and the minimum of ingredients it's my version of baked beans on toast cannellini beans on bruschetta is not bruschetta by its Bruce Keta what it means in Italian is toasted bread with anything you want on top I'm coating both sides of the bread with olive oil and salt now what you have to do is to pour the bread on a very hot griddle pan [Music] if you don't have a grader pan you can always do the bread under a very hot Grill and now for the fried topping starting with beautiful red onions and this is exactly what you should hear the sizzling of the onions into the oil of course always keep an eye on your breads this dish wouldn't be the same without delicious cherry tomatoes I'll leave the skin on I left the seeds on just cut them in quarter put them in the middle of your hands and just squeeze them so all the juices they're going to be released with the onion that's it the only thing you have to do mix everything together and let it cook for the next three minutes [Music] I'm happy with my breads ah have a look at this this is exactly what I want golden breads with the oil and salt all over beautifully toasted just let it rest because as the bread is resting the crust is going to be even harder but in sides nice and soft and now I'm going to add chopped flat leaf parsley and when I say chopped I don't mean finely chopped I want your parsley to be nice and rough just like this look leave it rustic leave it rustic okay give it a good Shake and now the Kundalini beans now make sure you drain them from the water mix everything together and sprinkle over loads of black pepper [Music] now have a look at this all these bubbling this is the juices from the tomatoes and the beans releasing and I want you to leave it like that for one minute my bread is cold so to turn it into that authentic bruschetta it needs to be rubbed with garlic on both sides look at this glistening bean and tomato mixture it will taste so amazing with my garlic bread oh yes extra virgin olive oil to finish [Music] you may call it these beans on toast I'll call it bruschetta with cannellini beans [Music] these Beans really beat those baked ones simple quick to make and [Music] I've come to Puja a beautiful yet poor part of southern Italy I couldn't visit the region without a trip to the rather bizarre looking town of Albero Bello this cute lead to local houses are called truly and they have intrigued me ever since I first came here on holiday I remember when I was a little boy I must have been probably about five or six and the first time I saw the truly house I thought that the Smurfs lived here of course they don't but with its fairy tale atmosphere alberoberlo is a real draw for tourists there are places where is full of tourists you know shops bars you know tourists they're going up and down and then there are places where it's very quiet where people actually live in the truly and it's it's weird to me truly were generally built as either storehouses or homes for agricultural workers I want to take a closer look at these unusual buildings and tourists guide Katia De Carlo is going to show me around wow the view is incredible from here that's one of the best view of Robert any reason why the roof is like a cone shape because cement starting from the 15th century was forbidden so all this truly is here they're actually holding without any cement whatsoever today's you can find cement but at the beginning truly houses were built without cement the original truly were built with Limestone from local fields and people used dry Stone techniques they could avoid paying taxes by dismantling the buildings none of these quaint houses are exactly the same while the outside of the truly are intriguing I've always wanted to see inside wow this is very nice but you know I was expecting the ceiling to be a cone shape why Why is flat on top it's over this roof you see the opening it was a storage to store food and the smoke of the fireplace went up to smoke the food and to keep it longer all the truly are modern like this inside that's not all the truly houses are modern this has been turned into a vacation home this house feels surprisingly big there are two bedrooms and this one was for the children how many children they used to have 10 children per family very fertile truly and I love the wooden beams here where is rock and roll I have to say no but in the past they were used to cover the roof with other wooden beams and imagine that children went to sleep in the roof so children slept at bottom here and on the top it's been fun to explore the houses which fascinated me as a boy but there is something that this Chef has got to do in Albero Bello cook above the rooftops I have it truly behind me fantastic ingredients on my table so I've decided to prepare pinata in botita which is bread stuffed with salame cheeses and vegetables off comes the top of my rustic loaf once you take the top of the bread off get yourself a tablespoon and take all the center of the bread out of course don't draw the dough away because what you can do with this one you can make toasted bread crumb meatballs or meatloaf the first ingredients that we're gonna put in there is cheese I'm using a local cheese that is called Cacho Cavallo lay the bottom of the bread and it's very important to put the cheese first because when you're going to put the other vegetable in there they're gonna have oil in it and the cheese is going to stop the oil oozing out of the bread if you don't have Cacho Cavallo a strong firm cheddar will do the trick now as soon after the cheese we're gonna put the salame and when you put the salami make sure that you cover the sides of the bread [Music] will also go really nicely with the cheese after the salame courgettes I'm using here grilled courgettes they go in all over the side of the Breads and make sure when you put the ingredients in that you press it down with your fingertips so everything gets very nice and tight now for a classic Putin ingredient these are sun dry tomato in oil and they're absolutely delicious because they're nice and sweet they got all the herbs with it and I'm also relying on the flavor of the oil press them on top of the courgettes on top of the sun-dried tomatoes I'm gonna pour my roasted Peppers don't panic you can use the one in the jar and it doesn't really matter what color peppers are yellow green Reds absolutely fun now give it a good sprinkle of black pepper and the last layer we're gonna do is to put cheese on top it's gonna help for you to press everything down and there is no oil that is going to go everywhere [Music] make sure you cover with the top of the bread and then you're just gonna have to put a little bit of pressure on top that's it the job is done now let me show you exactly what you're gonna get in the middle of my stuffed pinata [Music] foreign stuffed bread with salame cheeses and vegetables my favorite food on the go this is the tastiest sandwich ever a beautiful mix of colors and flavors [Music] before I leave Albero Bello there is just time to catch the town's procession dedicated to San Antonio the saint of lost people Albero Bello hasn't forgotten its traditions and I'm pleased that the town I loved as a boy is thriving while respecting its humble past [Music] thank you foreign [Music]

Channel: Our Taste

Views: 1,162,111

Keywords: Our Taste, Documentary, Food Documentary, Full Episode, Full Length Episodes, Food, Drink, Cuisine, Recipe, Cooking, Cooking Show, Meal, Chef, Restaurant, Vegetarian, Vegan, Cooking Hacks, Food Hacks, Cooking Videos, Cooking Competition, Cooking Ideas, Food Ideas, Easy Recipes, International, Travel, Food Around The World, Tasty, Meals, Desserts, Dinner, Breakfast, Lunch, Food From Around The World, British Food, American Food, French Food, Foodie, How To Cook, Cooking For Beginners, italy, gino

Id: 2L4380ZUl8o

Length: 128min 51sec (7731 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 21 2023